Herald Post 2010-02-25.pdf

6 NEWS
Thursday, Feb. 25, 2010 HP
Retiree shares story of service to two nations
By Sgt. 1st Class Osvaldo Sanchez
7TH CSC PUBLIC AFFAIRS
The light shines through the glass of a large window
during a late afternoon reflecting off the many
plaques, awards and gifts set on a table for one man
with a distinguished career.
He is Lt. Col. Dieter Biedekarken, the inspector
general of the U.S. Army Reserve’s 7th Civil Support
Command at Daenner Kaserne in Kaiserslautern,
Germany, who has served for more than 27 years in
the American military.
The scene was set for his retirement ceremony, an
event conducted to recognize his dedication to the
military and nation. Although, Biedekarken does not
officially retire until March 1, he submitted his terminal
leave to prepare for his life after retirement.
The lieutenant colonel was presented the U.S. flag
to honor him for his service. The colors were carefully
folded into the shape of a tri-cornered hat, symbolic
of the hats worn by colonial Soldiers during the
American War of Independence from 1775-1783.
This custom of special folding is reserved only for
the U.S. flag. The folding ceremony is used to honor
the flag on special days like Memorial Day or Veterans
Day and is known to be used at retirement ceremonies.
Biedekarken, a native of Cologne, Germany, said he
enjoyed his career because it involved people from all
over the world.
“What I enjoyed the most in military life was the
sense of camaraderie and closeness with my fellow
Soldiers,” Biedekarken said, a man with clear eyes and
lifelines on his face showing humility and experience.
“I don’t think you can ever find anything close to that
in civilian life. The variety of different jobs that I had
in the Army and the moving around the world made
for a most interesting life.”
His first significant assignment exposed him to
many challenging but beneficial times, he said.
“My platoon was made up of the best tankers in
Europe,” Biedekarken said.“I had literally interviewed
and handpicked the 15 members of my platoon as
we had been selected to participate in the Canadian
Army Trophy Team competition. This was at the time
the most prestigious NATO tank shooting competition.”
Then came the period when Saddam Hussein and
his regime invaded Kuwait. He was ordered to deploy
with his unit for the planned invasion of Iraq.
“I was deployed in Desert Storm as a tank platoon
leader with the 2nd Armored Division (Forward)
from Garlstedt, Germany,” he said. “The war prevented
us from participating in the shooting match, but I
still got to keep my hand-selected crews.”
Later, Biedekarken came back to the land where he
was born and didn’t see war for more than a decade
until he deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom
with the 1st Armored Division Rear Operations
Center out of Wiesbaden, Germany.
“I was the full-time Active Guard Reserve operations
officer of the unit at the time,” he said. “Both
experiences taught me how extraordinary situations
really bring out the best in human beings. I feel extremely
close to the people I served with.”
Then, he moved up to serve as the deputy inspector
general for the 7th Army Reserve Command, a headquarters
element that recently transformed and activated
as the 7th CSC in October 2008. For the last year
of his tour, he was the command’s inspector general
and, after serving for almost three decades, submitted
his retirement paperwork.
“A Soldier retires. Such a simple statement,” said
Brig. Gen. Jimmie Jaye Wells, the commanding general
of the 7th CSC and guest speaker of the retirement
ceremony.“Yet a lifetime of service to our country just
passed. As news of troop surges and massive movements
of Soldiers become passé in our daily news, it’s
easy to lose sight of who ‘troops’ are. We’re America’s
sons and daughters as well as from other countries.”
“In the modest German town of Eggenfelden …
in 1955, Herr and Frau Biedekarken gave birth to a
tiny boy who, 54 years later, would retire a lieutenant
colonel in the United States Army,” Wells said. “What
are the odds?”
The general said he felt privileged to have been a
part of Biedekarken’s retirement ceremony.
“It’s captivating that both Germany and the U.S.
gained immeasurably from the service of this son of
two great nations,” he said. “While I was not there to
see the beginning, I had the distinct honor to be there
at the end of the fine career of Lt. Col. Dieter Biedekarken.”
“At the end of a decade in which our Army has been
on point for our nation it is also the end of a Soldier’s
career,” Wells said. “He like most of us is no hero. Yet
he is an American Soldier with a unique story worth
knowing. It’s touching and significantly an emotional
event for everything we do especially for this circle of
his life from birth here, and his civilian and military
Courtesy photo
Then, Pfc. Dieter Biedekarken (top right), carpentry and
masonry specialist, takes a photo with his parents while
on leave in the spring of 1983 in Cologne. Biedekarken’s father
was the deputy fire chief of Cologne at that time, the
equivalent of a colonel. His mother was wearing her nurse’s
uniform. She was the head nurse of the neurosurgical ward
of the University Medical Center in Cologne.
career in Germany.”
Biedekarken is now living California where he has
started working on his new life.
“I don’t think it has really registered yet that I have
more time now,” he said. “My wife and I have been
extremely busy settling matters here in San Diego. We
do spend almost every waking minute together and
we are still getting along. Plus, we are enjoying immensely
the wonderful weather and being able to be
outdoors here in Southern California.”
Biedekarken said if he had the opportunity he
would tell first-term Soldiers to keep a positive outlook
regardless of the situation.
“A military career with the right attitude can be the
most rewarding time in your life with experiences
that no civilian career could ever give you,” Biedekarken
said. “And where else can you retire in your best
years and still enjoy the rest of your life?”